Our upcoming trip to the U.S. involves several long road trips, and chances are, you have some car time ahead of you this summer as well. So I asked Jordan of Polkadot Prints to come up with an awesome gift for a car trip. Don’t miss the free printable she created! Enjoy. And bon voyage! — kisses, Gabrielle We’ve been doing a fair bit of driving since we moved out to the lake. Visiting family, weekends in the city, even groceries involve quite a bit of driving for us. So, to keep things interesting and little people occupied, I created these snack bags for a recent trip. Each treat box spaced out the goodies for our journey. For instance, Levi could have a bag of goodies once we “saw a deer”, “had been driving an hour”, “had a nap”, “saw 15 red cars,” etc. With school out, I thought they might be just what you need for your summer road trips. Cute gifts to give your kids, or to give to favorite friends before their family vacation! …

The Perfect Gift: Road Trip Travel PacksRead More »

One of the foods I’ve missed while we’ve been here is graham crackers. A stack of graham crackers with a glass of cold milk is one of my comfort foods! I haven’t found grahams in France, but I figured there was probably something close — a lightly sweet cookie that was almost a cracker. So I started exploring and happily, early on in my explorations I tried a package of Speculoos. They’re not the same as grahams, but they’re a great substitute when I can’t get the real thing. A tall stack of Speculoos, accompanied by fresh milk from the neighbor, is… heavenly! Speculoos are actually a product of Belgium, but they’re common in the stores here. Have you ever tried them? We fly to the U.S. on Thursday and one of the things the kids keep talking about are foods they can’t wait to eat. Rootbeer! Smashburger! Mexican Food! Krispy Kremes! Bagels! I’d love to hear: What food would you miss if you moved from home?

This home tour squeezes my heart in so many ways. If you only look at the photos, you’ll see nothing but happiness. Plus two of the best chalkboards I’ve seen! Read Lonnalee‘s story, and you’ll see much, much more. The subject has shifted a tad this week, Friends, from how she and her husband are living with kids to how the entire Anderson family is adjusting to their particular set of challenges, including Lonnalee’s illness and an impending arrival of a new baby. Life is messy. But sometimes it’s the mess that clears all the clutter away, right? Please enjoy the tour. Q: Tell us all about who’s living in this well-loved home! A: There is David, who works as the teaching pastor at a little neighborhood church down the street. There’s me, a full-time mommy and sometimes artist who makes paper flowers mostly for weddings and home décor. And then there are our precious little Mollie Lou who is four, and Ryle (pronounced like Kyle, but with an “R”) who is three. I am currently growing a third, and we’ve decided to wait until birth to find out if the baby is a sister or a brother. No pets. Ever. Q: How did this house become yours? A: I was pregnant with Ryle and we were in a 500 sq. ft. bungalow near Old Littleton, Colorado, a part of town we loved. Built in 1907, that house had so much character and was one of the first homes in the area. I loved that house. The second we had our daughter we realized how small it was. When I was pregnant with Ryle, it became even smaller (as happens to an ever-growing six foot woman!). I knew I would miss the simplicity of living in a small space, but it was time to go. …

Living With Kids: Lonnalee AndersonRead More »

You know those poppies I shared a photo of on Friday? Well, I preserved some! My friend Caroline brought me a gift, decorated with a dried poppy, and it was so pretty, I just had to make some myself. It’s super easy, so I thought I’d share in case you’d like to do it too. The funny thing is about those wild poppies: they can’t be cut and put in an arrangement — they wilt too quickly. So preserving them by drying is a wonderful way to extend their beauty. If you don’t happen to be surrounded by fields of wild poppies, no stress. This works equally well with the store-bought variety. …

DIY: Pressing PoppiesRead More »

You may remember, we were super lucky to make a trip to Rome over spring break — in fact we arrived in Rome on Easter Sunday! A busy day for the capital of Christianity. I’ve been meaning to write up a little report of our trip for 2 months now, and today’s the day, because there were 3 separate emails in my inbox this week asking for kids-in-Rome advice. : ) We LOVED our trip to Rome. I asked each of the kids to tell me their favorite parts of the trip and this is what they had to say… …

Rome With Kids: 7 Don’t Miss ActivitiesRead More »

 Summer is here! For many of us that means things like summer camp and road trips. So I asked Amy of This Heart of Mine to think up a perfect gift to make for kids who’ll be doing a bit of traveling this summer. I love the project she came up with — bookmaking is awesome! — kisses, Gabrielle Bookmaking is a project close to my heart. I’ve been making sewn books since childhood. Made with cereal box covers, covered in wrapping paper, filled with stories and ‘thumb thing‘ drawings. In college, I spent a few semesters learning every which way to create and compile books. Even though they weren’t filled with my thumbprint drawings, each was a labor of love and my work was joy-filled. I spend time each year teaching bookmaking to school-aged children. The children are excited and I love talking about and teaching about bookmaking. There is just so much potential in a blank book! I have this dream that if I can continue to share my joy and love of bookmaking, there will always be moms and children making cereal box cardboard and wrapping paper books in the years and decades to come. …

The Perfect Gift: Bookmaking 101Read More »

Our school year is winding down here in France, so I thought it would be fun to write up another little update on our kids’ experience in the local schools. I hope you enjoy it! The first thing I wanted to mention was handwriting. I snapped the photo of the chart below in the 6-year-old’s classroom at my kids’ school. Having good handwriting is a big deal here! And seems to be a universal skill. Even at the village market, all the signs for fruit and veggies are hand written in beautiful script. Ralph says when he first arrived, his math teacher picked up one of his worksheets and publicly started scolding him. (This is awful! I can’t read it at all!!) Ralph was so embarrassed! He has since started working hard on his penmanship, and has vastly improved. Script is the main form they learn to write in — even the littlest kids. I don’t think I’ve ever seen kids use basic print on their school work or even notes to friends. Along with good handwriting, instead of mostly using pencils in school, they write with pens only. In fact, all of my kids agree that in French schools, pencils are exclusively for art and geometry. No exceptions! From the moment they start learning to write the alphabet, at around age 5, they use refillable ink fountain pens. But. They also have pen erasers — a separate tool from the pen itself. Something else that seems so different is athletics. Sports seem to play a less influential role overall in the schools here, compared to our experience in New York and Colorado. Maude says there are still jocks — they’re the kids that are good at soccer. But that being good at sports isn’t really what makes you popular, and that even the athletes feel like school work is the most important. Sport shorts are short! For both girls and boys. And no one would ever wear athletic clothes or sport shots as school clothes. Athletic clothes are reserved for gym only. The same holds true for adults — I have never seen an adult running errands in workout clothes or yoga pants. Never even once! Here are the sports that have been covered in my kids’ gym classes: Badminton (this is big here!), handball, inline-skating, swimming, ping pong, kayaking, rugby, cricket and soccer (which, of course, is called football here). They’ve also had a section on baseball, but Olive says it’s not quite the same — for example, they hold the bat with one hand! Lastly, one thing my kids have noticed that’s really different from American schools, is the public criticism. Similar to the story of Ralph’s handwriting above, the teachers announce each student’s grade on every test and assignment publicly. And they’ll scold (sometimes even mock?) students who didn’t score well — right in front of the rest of the classmates. My kids report that the French kids don’t seem to notice, it’s just the way it’s always been. But you can bet my kids are always relieved when they get a good score! I’d love to hear what you think! Would your kids thrive in a French school? Do you have an opinion on good penmanship? P.S. — You can find earlier reports about school and my kids learning French here, here, and here. The very first report is here.

Michelle LeBlanc is that friend you want in the next dressing room or, better yet, sitting outside your closet every morning! “Nope,” she would shake her head politely and stylishly. “Not yoga pants again.” Browse her online shop for just a second or two, and it’s clear that her aesthetic is based on ease and good lines that will connect all the dots in your days, no matter where you may land. There’s a reason it’s called Pretty Mommy, Friends! Now let’s see how she’s prettily living with kids, shall we? Enjoy! Q: Tell us all about the stylish family who lives here! A: I live here with my husband Chris, music critic for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and our two daughters. Lila is four and Louisa just turned one in April, so we are knee deep in the highs and lows of raising two little ones. I also run a busy online boutique out of our house so I’m constantly trying to navigate between functioning as a stay-at-home mom and work-at-home mom. Between dress-up sessions, shipping packages, princess pirate escapades, answering emails, and keeping everything sisterly, there is a lot of living and working happening here on any given day! Q: Where do you make your home? Will you tell us the story of how it came to be yours? A: We moved to Minneapolis 11 years ago from Austin, Texas and bought this little 1920s cottage in the city. The location is pretty fantastic; right along a creek and scenic hike and bike trails, plus close to a lake…it is Minnesota, after all! When we found the house, we were newly engaged and I had no intention of living somewhere so cold for very long, so we definitely treated it as a temporary situation. …

Living With Kids: Michelle LeBlancRead More »

Still looking for something awesome you can make Dad for Father’s Day? Well, Jordan of Polkadot Prints — one of my favorite Australian bloggers — has just the thing. And it includes a free printable. Take a look! — kisses, Gabrielle So your dad has the shiny BBQ, he has the large over-sized BBQ utensils and now you’re scratching your head as to what to get him for Fathers day. Enough of the scratching, as today I have a practical and fun fathers day gift for you that will take his BBQ’ing to a whole new level. Create a gourmet BBQ sauce pack perfect for summer picnics and get togethers! …

The Perfect Gift: Handmade BBQ Sauce Pack for Father’s DayRead More »

Are you ready? Are you set? Here’s episode 4 of Olive Us! It’s called Helping Dad. Perfect timing for Father’s Day, don’t you think? Once again, this is a different sort of episode than the ones we’ve shared so far. It’s our first attempt at a parody! We know that modeling positive behavior can sometimes suggest the Blair kids are unrealistically well-behaved. So we thought it would be funny to make a video showing something truly over-the-top. We hope you enjoy it! And for those of you with little ones, this episode might be over their heads. But hopefully they’ll still enjoy the music. : ) ——– Want more Olive Us? Here are the most recent behind-the-scenes videos: – Fun facts about Helping Dad – How to Make Prop Lemonade – Lemonade Stand Trivia – How to play Zing Zing Zing Find more at OliveUs.TV. Be sure to subscribe to the weekly email so you’re the first to know about new videos!

I’ve told you before that I’m not a super emotional person, haven’t I? It’s really true. Usually. Just not after reading Regina Sirois‘ interview answers. They are so genuine, written straight from her sweet heart, and her last three answers left me sitting sentimentally for some very long minutes. This is certainly a lovely home, friends, but this tour left me admiring so much more than the Sirois family furnishings. Please enjoy it. [ 6/19/12 Update: This just in! Regina won the Young Adult Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award for 2012. That’s a big deal! Go Regina!! ] Q: Tell us about the family who makes this house a home! A: We have an unconventional home because we have an unconventional life. (Don’t we all?!) My husband is an artist who does visual special effects and computer animation, and I am novelist. We both work from home with our two daughters who are four and nine. With all this togetherness (day after day after day) we need a home that we like to be in because we are always there! Together. Always. …

Living With Kids: Regina SiroisRead More »

Hello, Friends! I’m delighted to introduce a new column today. It’s called The Perfect Gift! The column will feature great ideas for gifts you can make for every occasion. We’ll start with Father’s Day, and cover things like housewarming gifts, graduation gifts, holiday gifts, hostess gifts, coach gifts, etc. — and even include ideas for wrapping up the gift! Why gifts? Great question! Turns out the number one topic I receive questions about is gift ideas. What should I buy for my mother in law? What’s appropriate for an end of year teacher gift? That sort of thing. And I love coming up with great answers! So I hope this new column will be helpful, useful and inspiring. For the debut post, I asked Miranda of One Little Minute to come up with something perfect for Father’s Day. I love her idea! Take a look. — kisses, Gabrielle Nothing feels more like summer to me than roasting marshmallows around a fire pit, then using those perfectly toasted mallows to create gooey s’mores. I spotted these simple wooden-handled roasting forks, and thought they would be wonderful items to personalize for each member of the family. Tied up in a simple paper bag with some s’more fixings, they make the perfect gift for Dad. Include a reservation for a night at Dad’s favorite campground and it turns into the best gift ever! …

The Perfect Gift: Personalized Roasting Sticks for Father’s DayRead More »

For this month’s Love the Place You Live column, we visited a Vide Grenier — which is basically a community wide rummage sale. But this one was in a tiny village called Avoines that neighbors our own tiny village, and though we didn’t know many people there, it felt much like an event in our own neighborhood. We had a great time and came home with a few silly trinkets. My favorite purchase was a handful of ceramic feves, the little tokens that are baked into King Cake. I bought several of both the white and colorful versions. Only 10 centimes each! I though they would make a fun souvenir. Or be little good-luck tokens to keep in your pocket on special days — like a big test day. The vide grenier was centered around the town’s Mairie office. Even the tiniest villages have their own Mayor here in France, though this village is so tiny it doesn’t have a store or school or bakery or post office. Outside the Mairie, there were tables and benches set up for picniking, and there was a booth selling hot sandwiches and frites. So yummy! …

Love The Place You Live: Vide Grenier (Community Yard Sale)Read More »

The lovely Gina recently posted about baby naming in Sweden. We exchanged a couple of emails about the traditions there and she explained that Swedes will sometimes take many months — even a year! — before they name their babies. It got me thinking about my own baby naming stories. As soon as we knew he was a boy, we picked Ralph’s name. But Maude’s first birth certificate said Miriam (seems so strange now, it wouldn’t fit her at all!). We ended up changing her name to Maude the day after we filed the Miriam paperwork, but we didn’t get around to getting a new birth certificate for a few months. I remember standing in line at a bland government office, arms full of little toddler Ralph and tiny baby Maude, going through the red tape to get the new certificate, feeling completely overwhelmed, and promising myself that if we had any more babies, we’d have the name figured out before we left the hospital — so that I’d never have to refile that paperwork again. Hah! What about you? Did your baby’s name come to you right away? Or did you have to search for it? Are any of you like the Swedish? Did you spend a few months after the baby was born trying on names until you decided? P.S. — I find Swedish child-rearing endlessly interesting. Remember the preschools that are entirely outdoor? Also, remember tiny Baby June?

Last month, before we flew to Rome, we stayed in Paris for couple of days. While we were there, we went to the top of the Eiffel Tower with the kids for the first time! I thought I’d share a few helpful tips for any of you with an Eiffel Tower climb in your future. (I hope it’s lots of you!) …

4 Tips for Climbing the Eiffel Tower with KidsRead More »

Would you like to see the next episode of Olive Us? In this one, Olive is having trouble getting customers at her lemonade stand. Find out what happens when she brainstorms with her brothers and sisters! Once again, it’s something completely different from the previous episodes. This is our most scripted video yet — where the kids get their first chance at reciting written lines. I hope you enjoy the show! If you’d like to stay in touch about all things Olive Us, be sure to subscribe here. You’ll receive a weekly email with updates, new videos and behind the scenes footage. For example, here are Maude & Olive demonstrating Zing, Zing, Zing — the hand game they played in episode 1. Once again, a big thank you to Pottery Barn Kids for sponsoring our first 3 episodes!   …

Olive Us: Episode 3: Lemonade StandRead More »

I’m writing from the train today. This morning, my niece Roxcy and I took the 6:00am to Paris, and then a taxi to Charles de Gaulle airport, where Roxcy boarded a non-stop flight to Salt Lake City. (I snapped the photo above while we were on the train. Even when she hasn’t had enough sleep, Roxcy is as lovely as can be.) Sending an unaccompanied child off on a Transatlantic flight is nerve-wracking. There’s such an instinct to stay with her, to make sure she’s fed and comfortable and entertained on the long journey. And mostly, to make sure she arrives home safe and sound. I will be holding my breath until I hear she’s back in her parents’ care. Roxcy’s flight today marked 3 months of staying with us — 3 months is as long as a U.S. visitor can stay in France without applying for special visas. While she was here, we enrolled her in the local school with her Blair cousins, she helped out like any member of the family, and she traveled around with us on our adventures. She’s a great kid — kind and smart and helpful. We loved having her around and Ben Blair reported lots of tears this morning as the little ones woke up and realized she was really gone. Tell me, did you ever have an adventure like Roxcy’s when you were a kid? Maybe stayed with a cousin far from home? Or traveled with a study abroad group? How long were you gone? And If you had the chance, would you offer this sort of experience to your own child? Have your kids ever taken a solo flight? (I think it’s so brave!) P.S. — My train back to Normandy left at 1:55 in the afternoon, so I had a couple of hours to run errands in Paris. I bought scissors from Muji, party banners from Hema, and macarons for Ben Blair from Ladurée. It was very multicultural shopping. : )

Are you ready for episode 2 of Olive Us? It’s something completely different from Garden Day — it’s a recipe tutorial! Make this with your kids and dip bread or crackers or veggies in it. They will love it! I hope you enjoy the show! If you’d like to stay in touch about all things Olive Us, be sure to subscribe here. You’ll receive a weekly email with updates, new videos and behind the scenes footage. For example, here’s Ralph sharing some fun facts about episode 1. Once again, a big thank you to Pottery Barn Kids for sponsoring our first 3 episodes! P.S. — At the Blair house, we love tzatziki on everything. We learned to make it when Ben Blair and I lived in Greece. We’ll make a big batch for dinner and eat it with chicken and Greek salad. Have you ever tried it? …

Olive Us: Episode 2: I’m Hungry: TzatzikiRead More »

Brooke Fish and her family are moving — just a few streets away — because their current house was unable to grow with them, no matter how hard they tried to make it work or how often they battled city codes! So this tour of their just-sold home is a little less of a tour, and much more a love letter to the place where their earliest family memories were made. Enjoy it, Friends! Q: Tell us who lives in this sweet home…for the next few weeks! A: My little love, laughter, and grace filled home consists of a complete outnumbering of boys three to one: my amazing husband of nine years, photographer Adam Fish, and our two boys  Jude, who is nearly seven, and Liam, who is almost four. Due to allergies, we have no dogs or cats, but over the years there has been a Beta fish named Pinky Toe, a caterpillar named Herbert, and a turtle named Sherbet. Q: How did it become yours? A: Purchasing our first home was a grueling experience. We looked for months and months, knowing that we wanted to live in a little sub-division of Dallas called Lake Highlands. We had hoped to find a mid-century modern within our budget, but sometimes you have to make sacrifices knowing that your first home doesn’t necessarily mean your forever home. We didn’t fall in love with this house right away, but it did offer some great things, like a fully remodeled kitchen, original hardwoods, and walk-in closets. Over the years we made it ours with paint in every single room, a remodeled bookcase, and new doors in the rear entries. I’m so very blessed to have a skilled carpenter for a father-in-law! …

Living With Kids: Brooke FishRead More »

It’s here! Olive Us has officially launched. Tiger in a Jar — the amazing video crew who put this together — has been working round the clock to finish up the edits. And I’m crazy excited about how it turned out! I hope you are too. : ) I can’t wait to hear what you think of it. Things you can do to join in the fun: – Watch our pilot episode. It’s called Garden Day. It was made with love! – Check out the new Olive Us website. You can find out more about the show there, including FAQs and bios of the kids. There’s even a video of Ben Blair talking about the aims of the series. – Subscribe to Olive Us! We’ll be sharing new videos every week and we don’t want you to miss out. – Tell your friends. We’d love help getting the word out about Olive Us. If you like what you see, feel free to share the videos on Facebook or your own blog or wherever you like to share things. We hope you enjoy the first episode. A huge thanks to Pottery Barn Kids for being the sponsor — they’ve been so fun to work with, and their faith in the idea made the series a possibility. P.S. — Oscar made up the song at the end on the video. Hah! …

Olive Us Launch! Episode 1: GardeningRead More »